Chapter 48: Shape of Shadow

Perda returned to the dark room.

Not to sleep, but to continue the training technique.

The mana technique called Shape of Shadow.

If mages classified it by levels, it would be a high-difficulty technique.

But Perda had already walked paths far harsher and more demanding.

For him, this posed no problem.

The only thing necessary was the movement of the circle.

And finally, that circle began to move.

‘The amount is ridiculously insufficient.’

Perda also knew how to force it.

If he had done so, he would have reached the 5th circle at that very moment.

But he didn’t.

He knew how dangerous it was to be consumed by emotions.

That was why he restrained that feeling while searching for an answer.

And finally, he found it.

Perda closed his eyes.

He expanded the flow of mana and concentrated it throughout his entire body.

Then, he slowly tilted it and poured it all out.

His inner world was crushed against the ground.

His mind was projected into the world of shadows.

The trembling shadow beneath the candlelight, moving with his breathing.

That shadow began to move on its own and slowly slid toward his body.

The rising shadow met the red circle in his dantian.

‘Valdrova.’

Perda’s mind began to imagine her figure on its own.

Inside his head lived a mad painter.

He drew the same image over and over again, but never satisfied, he also destroyed it.

Thousands of times he drew, thousands of times he broke it.

That emptiness was not simple thirst.

‘It was something I had wanted to understand ever since I reached the 3rd circle.’

A doubt that had disappeared when he stopped Valdrova’s rampage.

But in the end, Perda understood it.

In the image of Valdrova he was drawing, there was an emptiness.

In that emptiness were two syllables.

‘Tomorrow.’

At that instant, the mad painter inside him began to move.

Unlike when he was dominated by anger, this time there was fervor.

On a wider canvas, he began to draw Valdrova without restraint.

‘Her tomorrow.’

Not just any tomorrow.

‘A tomorrow in which I am there.’

He placed himself within that empty space.

The image turned into a phrase.

‘I want to share tomorrow with her.’

At the moment the sentence was completed, something astonishing happened.

The superficial images came to life.

Perda recognized it.

‘Innocence.’

A dream of a weak child from a distant past.

The vague figure of his companion was replaced by a beautiful woman with red hair and four horns.

It was a dream and at the same time, an ecstasy.

Ecstasy is the peak point of emotion.

It moves.

That growing feeling violently shook the circle.

If he left it like that, Perda would be destroyed.

That was why he focused.

That future together must not be an illusion, but reality.

Perda brought the sensation of the shape of the shadow toward the circle.

At that moment, dozens of hands emerged, gathering the turbulent mana and shaping it.

‘It’s easy.’

It was incomparable to shaping it with a single hand.

Even forming circles 1 and 2 had been more difficult.

‘Too easy.’

By surrounding it from all sides, there was no escape.

The rotation continued, the form was molded.

And so, it was coated with a new layer.

Perda reached the 4th circle.

He opened his eyes.

The shadow twisted and soon took the shape of a hand.

It was the 3rd-level spell, Shadow Hand.

It was not on another level.

It was not an artificial creation made with magic.

It was another limb hidden within Perda’s body.

He adapted immediately.

‘The shadow is me.’

The hand split into more hands.

Those hands split into more.

And so, they multiplied endlessly.

The small room filled with black hands.

‘And I am the shadow.’

The candle could not withstand the dense darkness and went out.

***

Guild.

A guild is an organization that certifies the identity of its members and grants them benefits.

In return, it demands responsibility for their actions, regulates them through rules, and requires unity for the common good.

Protecting their interests through association is its essence.

But the Human Magic Society of Serdes was different.

More than certifying, it monitored.

More than benefiting, it controlled.

That was the world in which the mages of the Serdes continent lived.

Its founder was Erdes Roton.

In the dragon-demon war, she was one of the twelve heroes of the expedition who joined together to defeat the Demon King, and she is also the founder of the Human Magic Society.

Even 150 years later, she is still alive and active.

The mage who has not let go of the title of the strongest of humanity up to the current generation.

The embodiment of knowledge.

A living witness.

She possessed experience impossible to ignore, and yet she appeared younger than women in their prime.

“You have to attend to your administrative duties.”

“I don’t want to!!”

She complained like a child.

“I don’t want to work! Leave me alone!”

“You’ve been piling up work for days. Look at this. There are so many documents you can’t even see your face anymore, boss.”

“I put them there so I wouldn’t see your face. Let Blue do it.”

“How am I supposed to do it? And my name is Lu.”

“It’s fine to fall behind a little. If it bothers you that much, tell him to come and say it to my face.”

“But you don’t even open the door.”

“Don’t I open it properly when I’m challenged to a duel?”

“Who in their right mind would fight the boss?”

She was a heroine of the dragon-demon war and the strongest mage of humanity.

In a world where the difference in circles reduces the chances of victory to nearly zero, there was no one who could defeat her in theory.

“That’s the problem. They all say they’re risking their lives, but when I say do you want to die? they answer I want to live! and run away. They’ve got no guts, no guts.”

“But you crippled someone who actually risked his life.”

“Well, sometimes you overdo it with the force. But we reached a friendly agreement with the affected person, right?”

She said it as if it were nothing.

All the assistant could do was sigh and hand her more documents.

“Here is the list of attendees for the Grand Council. Review it.”

Even if you don’t, it doesn’t matter.

Lu muttered to himself.

With a slight movement of her finger, the list flew into Erdes’s hand.

“There are many old men I know. At that age they should leave it to their children. How long do they plan to continue?”

“That’s what I say.”

The assistant’s eyes fell on Erdes.

“Remove that look before I gouge your eyes out. Understood?”

While reviewing the list, her gaze stopped at one point.

“Is there a problem?”

“I thought I had seen wrong.”

She repeated that name several times.

“But no, I didn’t make a mistake. Blue, don’t you know how to do your job properly?”

“Huh?”

The assistant was bewildered by the sudden insult.

She pointed at a name.

“Here it says this guy’s surname is Valdrova.”

“Ah, that’s correct. It’s the name of the red dragon Valdrova. It’s not an error on my part or the organizer’s.”

“Do you swear to me it’s not a lie?”

“Yes. There are records.”

Erdes shrugged, brushing it off.

“How strange, that dangerous dragon… So, is he one of her spawn?”

“Eh… didn’t you know?”

Erdes smiled slightly.

But her face darkened.

“What is it that I don’t know? That I’m an ignorant idiot of the world? Or that today you might lose your head?”

“N-no! I didn’t mean to disrespect you or mock you, this is simply—”

“Get to the point.”

“Well… this time it’s about the fiancé of the red dragon Valdrova.”

“Fiancé?”

No matter how carefree she was, she understood what that meant.

“Seriously?”

“Huh?”

“I’m asking if it’s real.”

“Uh… yes, it’s real.”

“How curious. No one voluntarily goes to be executed… Bring me the file of that Perda.”

“Yes, one moment!”

The assistant placed both hands on his temples and cast a spell.

“Search, Perda Valdrova.”

At that instant, piles of papers slid through the gap under the door and stacked up in front of him.

After completing the spell, he handed them to Erdes.

“H-here they are.”

Her eyes quickly scanned the documents.

“Let’s see… third son of the Rosnova family… hm…”

Her gaze became calmer.

As she progressed, her expression turned serious.

“Blue.”

“Yes.”

“When is the Grand Council?”

Lu’s eyes widened.

“In five days. Are you going to attend?”

“I was going to skip it, it seemed boring… but it might not be a bad idea to go.”

Erdes stared fixedly at Perda’s portrait.

“Besides, you don’t see a face that stupidly attractive every day.”

“What matters is his presence, don’t you think? It might be late, but we should prepare the carriage—”

“That won’t be necessary.”

Erdes rotated her finger in the air.

A circular portal appeared following the motion.

“If there’s an easy way, why complicate things?”

5th-level Teleport Door.

A complex spell that she executed without chants or a magic circle.

A spectacle that a mage might never witness in their lifetime.

But for Lu, more than impressive, it was unsettling.

“Lu, I’m going to take care of some matters.”

“Huh?”

“Handle everything properly while I’m gone. And don’t forget to feed the cats!”

“Boss, wait!”

“I’ll be back!”

She waved her hand casually and jumped into the portal.

“If you were going to use a portal, you could have finished the piled-up work before leavinggggg!”

Lu’s shout lingered in the air as the portal closed.

***

10 days before the Grand Council, Perda finished preparing to depart for the central region of the continent.

To reach the territory of Blancaros, he had to leave at that moment.

‘Customs are useless.’

The higher the status, the more things one must possess.

Among them is time, and taking things slowly is considered a noble virtue.

For Perda, who had lived the future, that was ridiculous.

When magic vehicles began to become widespread, that relaxed culture disappeared.

Rather, nobles began to seek faster means of transportation.

“Regent, may I come in?”

It wasn’t Ruri, but Zed.

He wore the red uniform typical of the vassals of the territory of the Grand Duchess Valdrova.

“The knight Arwen and his soldiers sent by Count Consilus have just arrived.”

“I see.”

“Our carriage is also ready, we’re just waiting for you to board… hm?”

Zed looked over Perda’s body, puzzled.

“Is there a problem?”

“Not exactly, I was just wondering if you’re going dressed like that…”

Perda’s clothing was extremely simple.

Nobles always tried to stand out.

They used threads of jewels and gold to shine.

Gold thread was almost mandatory.

When he went to the imperial palace, Perda wore red with golden embroidery.

But now he wore black with red, without excessive shine.

Compared to other nobles, he was too understated.

“I don’t like gold.”

“Who in the world hates gold?”

Zed reacted incredulously. Then he evaluated his outfit.

“Without it, you’ll look just like me.”

“Perfect. That lowers the chances of some ignorant assassin targeting me.”

“With that face, I doubt they’d mistake me for you.”

Zed smiled narcissistically.

Perda ignored him and took something from the table.

“Here.”

Just as Zed was about to approach, something surprising happened.

Sss—

A shadow came out of Perda’s hand, took the object, and brought it to him.

Zed was surprised, but tried not to show it.

“What is this?”

“What was promised.”

Zed checked the contents.

“Perda Valdrova, consort of the Grand Duchess Valdrova and regent, in the name of the great fire dragon Valdrova, grants Zed Swallow the title of sword of the kingdom and shield of the people…”

He didn’t need to read the whole thing.

“A knighthood appointment?”

Zed raised his head, surprised.

“…Is this real?”

“Do you think it’s fake? Wasn’t that what we agreed on?”

“Yes, but I didn’t expect it to be so soon…”

Becoming a knight was the first step toward nobility.

It usually required lineage or great achievements.

“Can I really accept this now?”

“There’s no problem. Your abilities were proven in the imperial warehouse.”

“That’s not what I mean…”

Zed waved his hands.

“Shouldn’t there be a big ceremony? Women, music, alcohol…”

Perda stared at him.

He considered taking it back.

“Focus on your mission, Knight Zed.”

“Tch… understood, regent.”

My party…

Muttering, he withdrew.

“I should prepare as well.”

Normally Ruri would help him, but it was no longer necessary.

Sss—

From his sleeves and chest, a black mist emerged.

It transformed into eight hands that began to assist him.

They buttoned his clothes, adjusted his outfit, leaving it almost perfect.

‘Reaching the fourth circle was definitely worth it.’

Although they were still clumsy, those hands were extensions of his body.

With practice, they could even cast magic.

‘I still have talent.’

The only thing missing was experience.

“Shall we go?”

The sound of his footsteps echoed through the hallway.

When he reached the inner gate, many soldiers had gathered.

“Formation!”

Arwen Wolfheart’s voice echoed.

The soldiers knelt in unison.

“Arwen Wolfheart, commanding 30 men, reporting for escort duty.”

“At your orders!”

Perda observed them one by one and nodded.

“Good work.”

“Yes! To positions!”

Arwen mounted his horse.

The soldiers formed the escort.

At his side, Zed also mounted.

He had only been a knight for a day, but he had presence.

Perda directed his gaze to the carriage.

A red carriage awaited him, along with Ruri.

With her usual expression, she held the door.

“Get in.”

“Alright.”

Just as he was about to board, Perda felt a gaze.

He turned slightly.

The castle balcony.

No one was there.

Of course.

What had he been expecting?

“Perda?”

“Let’s go.”

He boarded the carriage.

The ten-day journey passed in an instant.